Searching for "Italy"


Mar
2021

DipWSET Theory and Tasting—Greece

categories: Wine, Wine 101, Wine World (D3)

When I was studying for my WSET Level 3 exam, I had this to say about the Greek wine region:

Greece is one of those wine regions that fascinates me, simply because the tradition of winemaking is so old. I’m one of those people that gets joy out of studying wine because it takes me into different cultures and different cultures’ histories. I kind of wish this section was a bit bigger in the WSET text book. But, I guess that gives me more room to dive deeper either on my own time or, dare I say it, in pursuit of my WSET Diploma??

And here I am, indeed studying for my WSET Diploma and there is much and more to know about Greece in our D3 text. I’m covering just three of the major PDOs here, along with conjunctive tastings.

Caravaggio: Bacchus Bacchus, oil on canvas by Caravaggio, 1596–97; in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. Fine Art Images/Heritage-Images
Caravaggio: Bacchus
Bacchus, oil on canvas by Caravaggio, 1596–97; in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.
Fine Art Images/Heritage-Images;  britannica.com/topic/Dionysus

For a general overview of Greece as a wine producing country, based on Level 3 material, please see Wine Region Overview: Greece

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Feb
2021

This Week’s Latest Wine Headlines: February 21—26

categories: News, Wine

You made it through another week! Hope you have something amazing to pour in the glass to celebrate. Me? I’ve got so many bottles of wine after doing some conjunctive tastings along with my Portugal and Greece studies this past week. (To be released in the coming weeks). In case you missed my Italian notes: DipWSET Theory and Tasting—Piemonte , DipWSET Theory and Tasting—Valpolicella , DipWSET Theory—Southern Italy , and DipWSET Personal Theory and Tasting—Gavi di Gavi.

Below I’ve got this week’s round up of wine industry news. A few highlights—looks like there’s some new data/research surrounding the loss of smell due to Covid; John Fox, who ran the world’s largest wine Ponzi scheme, is officially out of prison (hold on to your magnums!); we’ve got Argentinian wine aged under the sea, the latest on Brexit, and the seemingly endless tariff wars between Australia and China.

And for for all my wine grape growing friends or those interested in learning more about California viticulture: I’ll be leading a panel discussion on regenerative agriculture at the upcoming Vineyard and Grower Conference. Other sessions include a look at the CA Crush Report and a deep dive into the latest research on smoke taint. Find out more and sign up here. I’ve also included some additional details below.

That’s all from me for now. Happy weekending. Cheers.

 

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Feb
2021

DipWSET Theory and Tasting—Valpolicella

categories: Wine, Wine 101, Wine World (D3)

When we think of Northeast Italy, we cannot forget Trentino, Alto Adige, and the Friuli regions—known predominantly for light, fruit forward, easy drinking white wines, typically for early consumption. There’s a broad range of international varieties produced. Specifically in Trentino and Alto Adige, which share geographic, cultural, and political ties to Germany and Austria, we find many varieties that grow in those countries as well. In Friuli, the aptly named Friulano is a dominant white wine grape, of course I believe most of our brain’s will veer toward Pinot Grigio grown in Grave di Friuli DOC. And don’t forget about the red wine grape Schiave. Pop Quiz: Where are more prestigious white wines produced and what is the dominant grape responsible for these higher quality wines? (You can find the answer below this post.)

For a general overview of Northern Italy, please see Wine Region Overview: Northern Italy.

Valpolicella Wine Tours
Valpolicella Wine Tours; veronissima.com

Today, however, I want to zero in on Veneto: specifically, Valpolicella because there’s something going on in there that, even in my Level 3 I kept getting confused. And, unfortunately that confusion came back to me in my Diploma Studies. I want to take the time to dive into the definitions of basic Valpolicella, passito/appassimento, recioto, Amarone, and ripasso and (hopefully) solidify that understanding with a conjunctive tasting.

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Feb
2021

DipWSET Theory and Tasting—Piemonte

categories: Wine, Wine 101, Wine World (D3)

Today I’m zero-ing in on the northwest portion of Italy, specifically the key regions for the key red wine grapes grown—Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Dolcetto. Pop Quiz: Can you describe each of these grape varieties’ key characteristics? How would describe the market positioning for each?

Map by Jeff Quinn.
Map by Jeff Quinn.

For a more general overview of Central Italy, based on WSET Level 3, please see Wine Region Overview: Northern Italy

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Feb
2021

This Week’s Latest Wine Headlines: February 14—19

categories: News, Wine

Hello and happy weekend. I’ve got your weekly round up of newsy wine items. Lots of great stuff both in traditional media and inside the blogs. So have a fun scroll-through.

For those of you following along on my WSET Diploma Studies, this past week we hit Italy (DipWSET Theory and Tasting—Central Italy (Part 1) DipWSET Theory and Tasting—Central Italy (Part 2)  [Paired with Metalica] DipWSET Theory and Tasting—Umbria ) and will continue with that massive, detailed country into next week.

Until then…cheers!

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